As a college student, I believe that I need caffeine to keep my days going. I’m not saying that without caffeine I wouldn’t be able to function, but having caffeine gives me more energy when I need it. There are so many coffee shops around the Monmouth University campus, including Offshore Coffee Roasters, Inkwell Coffee House, Starbucks, the Dunkin’ Donuts in the student center on campus, and my personal favorite, Rook Coffee.
I commute to campus every day, so I always stop at Rook to get my New Orleans cold brew whenever I have time before class. I find Rook’s coffee to be very rich and strong. Every coffee place tastes different, but I find Rook to be the best.
Whenever I am stressed about school, whether it be with homework or tests, I rely on coffee to help me stay up so I can complete all my work. During midterms and finals week where everyone is up until 2 am studying, coffee tends to be my main meal.
I find that energy drinks have the same effect as coffee. Some of my favorites are Red Bull, Celsius, Bang, and Monster drinks. I feel like caffeine from coffee has a bigger effect on people than these energy drinks, but most energy drinks hold almost the same amount of caffeine. Red Bull consists of 111 mg of caffeine in a 12 fl oz can. Celsius energy drinks have a total of 200 mg of caffeine in a 12 fl oz can. Bang has a total of 300 mg of caffeine in a 16 fl oz can. Monster energy drinks have the least caffeine, with only 86 mg in a 12 fl oz can.
People use energy drinks not only to stay awake, but also to help increase endurance, especially during exercise. Caffeine gives an energy boost that allows you to exert a higher level of effort than you would be able to without it. It also is proven to help with weight loss because an energy drink boosts metabolism by about 100 calories per day, according to Columbia University. It can also help you burn about one pound of fat a month, which might not seem like a lot but it’s better than nothing.
I think both coffee and energy drinks are good options for college students, but I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like coffee in college! Tiyana Randeniya, a freshman here at Monmouth, said that she feels as though she needs caffeine on a daily basis because she finds it hard to get through the day without it. It gets her day started and helps her to feel more energized for the rest of the day. Randeniya drinks both coffee and energy drinks because she feels like they both do the same thing for her. Celsius is her go-to energy drink but if she had to choose between caffeine or grabbing an energy drink, she would choose caffeine instead!
It’s not healthy to rely on caffeine too much, but there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it and using it as an extra boost of energy to help you get through the day.
